Contamination Clean Up: Soil

Soil contamination is a mess that can pose a hazard for both the environment and humans. Hazardous materials in soil like petroleum and lead can not only damage the natural environment by killing off certain plants and animals, but can also by means of physical contact and inhalation negatively affect the health of humans. Last month we dug into the subject of petroleum-contaminated soil and the positive impact plants can have on cleaning up certain messes created by humans.

However, sometimes the contamination is far too great for plants to lend a helping hand (or leaf). In that case, what can we humans do to combat soil contamination due to petroleum, lead and other damaging substances? Besides attempting to prevent oil spills, toxic material leaks and other unfortunate circumstances that lead to soil contamination, the proper remediation is the next best option for soil contamination damage that’s already been done.

The first step in contaminated soil remediation is to have it moved to a sealed off purifying facility, like our “Gold-Standard” facility in North Bergen. Once safely transported to a facility, the soil is then sealed off from the outside environment and remediated in a variety of ways. Depending on the service provider and the contaminate, different methods are used such as injecting microorganisms to the soil, chemical decomposition or stabilizing the metals in the soil. At Westside Environmental, we use the latest technology in the form of a negative-air system that purifies that air around the soil before releasing it back into the environment.